Photoionization of N,N,N',N'-Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine in Polar Solvents

The photoinduced electron transfer reactions of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) in various polar solvents were studied by measuring time-resolved fluorescence. The temperature dependence on the fluorescence decay rate in acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol and buthanol was carried out to obtain the activation energy and Arrehnius factor for the photoinduced electron transfer reaction. It was found that as the dielectric constant of the solvent increases, the activation energy and the reaction rate increase. This implys that the Arrehnius factor is important in controlling the photoinduced electron transfer reaction rate. In water, TMPD exists in three forms (cationic, protonated and neutral forms) due to the high dielectric constant and strong proton donating power of water. The photoinduced electron transfer reaction was found to be very fast (< 50 ps) and also the long liverd component in the fluorescence decay profile attributable to the photoexcited protonated form of TMPD was observed. Probably, the reaction pathway and the reaction coordinate seem to be different depending on the solvents studied here.